It's 2:00 a.m. You are at home in your bed sound asleep. Your wife is sleeping beside you, and your children are asleep in their rooms down the hall.

The muffled sound of a window breaking interrupts your slumber. You're groggy and you wonder if it was just a dream, so you lie there quietly and listen. A few seconds later, you hear other sounds. The window opens; a table beside the window makes a noise as it is jostled by an intruder; through your open door, you see reflections from a dim light that's moving from side-to-side on the floor below.

You are your family's protector. What should you do?

If you are like most Americans, there is not much that you can do except pray that the intruder won't come upstairs. In 2011, only 47% of Americans had a gun in their home or on their property. Republicans were more likely to own a gun than Democrats, but between 2009 and 2011, gun ownership among Democrats increased by 33% compared to less than 4% for Republicans. Obviously, people who call themselves "Democrats" are beginning to realize that something isn't right.

The scenario that I presented may sound like a nightmare situation, something that happens only rarely, but that's not the case. According to the FBI, in 2011 there were 1,203,564 violent crimes in the United States. That's 386.3 violent crimes per 100,000 people in our country. That means that in 2011 you had a less than 1% chance of being a victim of a violent crime in the U.S., but for those who were victims, statistics didn't matter in the slightest.

The FBI reports that aggravated assault accounted 62.4% of violent crimes committed in the U.S. in 2011; robbery was the criminals' motive 29.4% of the time; forcible

Home invasions are one reason but I think the biggest reason is that people anticipate that they are going to have to protect themselves from the government large hordes of city dwellers looking for food, water, etc.

The president and most of our elected officials are protected by people with guns, as are celebrities and athletes. We protect our money and property with armed people, and we see armed guards in hospitals, casinos and airports. The school attended by Obama’s daughters has 11 armed guards. Why do the Democrats insist that we turn our schools, where are most precious possessions are, into ideological battlegrounds where the Democrats arguments are purchased with the blood of innocents? The high schools where I live all have sworn officers assigned to them o a permanent basis, and the only shooting in 30 years occurred when the police shot a mentally disturbed student who showed up with a pistol and threatened a mass shooting.

In 2011, only 47% of Americans had a gun in their home or on their property. Republicans were more likely to own a gun than Democrats, but between 2009 and 2011, gun ownership among Democrats increased by 33% compared to less than 4% for Republicans. Obviously, people who call themselves "Democrats" are beginning to realize that something isn't right.

Obviously the old saw about we "being the ones with all the guns" is no longer true (if it ever was).

18
posted on 12/25/2012 10:31:54 AM PST
by rockrr
(Everything is different now...)

We routinely attend public meetings where armed CA Dept. of Fish and Game wardens line the back walls. We have had local farmers and ranchers visited by agents in full flack jackets to inquire about their water diversions. This is the message of intimidation our government is sending us. Perhaps our Founders were smarter than we give them credit for.

Actually, it didn’t hurt; my fiancee and I were feeling no pain from all the champagne we’d had at the premiere of “People” Magazine opening in W. Palm Bch, FL.

It didn’t even bleed. Just left a half-grapefruit-sized red mound w/ black dot in center. Wound sealed itself. The .32cal bullet missed all organs, bones, nerves, arteries etc. Everything. Just amazingly stopped short of the spine.

Trauma ctr doc in S. Miami Hospital said I was luckiest SOB he’d ever seen in 20yrs. “God was sitting on your shoulder tonite”, I remember him saying. “He’s saving you for something.” Removing bullet would have caused more trauma than being shot, so we opted to leave it in. Hasn’t caused any problems in 63yrs...

27
posted on 12/25/2012 11:34:25 AM PST
by carriage_hill
(Have A Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!)

At least some Americans are awake. I think there are a lot of US. . . . . . .

I hope you are right. And even if you are, we need to be more than merely awake, as the results of the last election ought to have taught us: we need to organize. The other side can do that using a national organization (the Democrat Party) as an umbrella because they are collectivists who believe in centralized government power.

Our mistake, I now believe, has been to believe that a similar national organization (the Republican Party) can serve the same function for us. But they can't - because such an organization given a leadership role will always seek to consolidate its own power and control in the seat of national government (Washington, DC), to the detriment of the various individuals and coalitions that it depends upon for support.

What we end up with is what we have seen: the same, but less. Collectivism on the cheap. Dime store socialism. Surrender masquerading as cooperation.

The answer is to remove power from Washington by enforcing the Constitution and returning power to individuals to manage their own lives in each state and each locality. But how do we do that when virtually all of our public institutions are controlled by leftists committed to the consolidation of power and control in a centralized government structure?

Perhaps we may begin by using their own guerrilla tactics against them, and why not, now that they are in charge and seeking to remove all practical means by which we might oppose them?

could be a reason but another possibility: Government buying as many as possible. Remember, multiple agencies and departments of government just purchased 100s of thousands of rounds. You can bet they aren’t loading each bullet manually.

“Home invasions are one reason but I think the biggest reason is that people anticipate that they are going to have to protect themselves from the government large hordes of city dwellers looking for food, water, etc.”

Used to be “if”. Now, it is “when”. “Soon.”

38
posted on 12/25/2012 6:20:24 PM PST
by jivin gene
(Breakin' up is hard to do)

Well, let’s see.
Our acting president and his party are actively wrecking the economy creating more and more dependants.
At some point the checks will stop and/or prices will skyrocket. They have armed up paramilitary drug gangs along our southern border. And now they are using the Connecticut shooting as an excuse to make it more difficult for law abiding citizens to purchase weapons to defend themselves. Bet they start talking about national gun registration soon. If they haven’t already.

I have to admit that is probably what I would do, because I am a hothead and don't want anyone to take our stuff. Most of the time they would probably run off if they weren't cornered after they heard you chambering a round.

But I have heard that uder most circumstances... the safer more reasonable thing to do would be to make sure that you and your family are safe in a defendable hidden place of cover then wait for the intruder(s) to come to you. Then blow them to pieces before they have a chance to come up with a plan to disarm and kill you and your family.

"... the safer more reasonable thing to do would be to make sure that you and your family are safe in a defendable hidden place of cover then wait for the intruder(s) to come to you."

Understand - but the best defense is also a good offense - take the fight to the enemy. On the other hand, I have never fired a shot at another human being - so, do I let the adrenalin take over while I'm still in attack-mode, or seek an easier, softer way?I've thought long and hard on that - guess I really don't know until it's time....

42
posted on 01/17/2013 4:27:20 AM PST
by Psalm 73
("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here - this is the War Room".)

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.